Does Martin Ødegaard disappear in big games?

Going into the Liverpool game, there was a lot of talk around the midfield battle after City overran Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, and the same was expected from Martin Ødegaard, Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey.

Early in the game, it looked like that would be the case, especially after Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal the lead after eight minutes with our skipper involved in the move that eventually led to the Brazilian poking home.

But, that joy was short-lived for Ødegaard, who had just 40 touches in the game and completed 24 passes from only 28 attempts, considerably lower than his season average of 60.8 touches and 38.2 accurate passes per game.

Alongside this, Ødegaard failed to play any key passes and only won one of his five ground duels, compared to his game average of 2.2 key passes and three ground duels won per game.

However, was this a bad game, or is it a trend?

Does Martin Ødegaard disappear in big games?

Social media has been awash with noise, claiming that he disappears in big games, much in the way Mesut Ozil did for Arsenal, which seems harsh considering he has assisted against Liverpool and Man Utd, and scored a thunderbolt away to Tottenham, and last year scored at Old Trafford and assisted at Stamford Bridge.

These numbers suggest that it is not a case of choking in big games, as those big moments, along with some standout performances in games where he hasn’t scored or assisted have been key to Arsenal winning big games, show.

But, a player like Ødegaard will always be judged on his creative output and control of a game, and a huge part of that is down to the players around him, and them being on their game.

After 40 minutes on Sunday, Liverpool really stepped up. They played an extremely high line and squeezed Arsenal into tight spaces in their own half, which led to Ødegaard playing in congested areas, faced with an aggressive high press.

To thrive in this environment, which we know he can, he needs options. On Sunday, Ben White’s level dropped slightly after his yellow on 23 minutes, and he became less involved in the attacking play. Ødegaard’s usual telepathic connection with Saka also seemed slightly off throughout the game.

Ødegaard’s understanding with White and Saka is a huge reason why Arsenal’s right-hand side is such a major threat, and many defenders have really struggled with it this season, most notably Luke Shaw at the Emirates in January.

With Andy Roberston pushing aggressively up the pitch and Liverpool’s confidence increasing, this trio struggled to impose themselves in the second half the way they normally do. On another day, however, Arsenal do better from the attacking situations created and kill the game.

While Ødegaard was unable to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, he did play two very important passes late in the second half. One diagonal fizzed ball to Martinelli which allowed him to carry the ball into the box, and one down the line to Martinelli, which led to his cross to Saka that was superbly cut out by Andy Robertson.

Those moments showed his quality, and while the skipper may not have been on it for 90 minutes, he still had glimpses of quality. It is both too early and unfair to say that he disappears, especially when judging him on a game when very few Arsenal players stood out after the 40-minute mark. He will grow and learn from this. He always does.